Page 99 of Striking Range

Silence. We stare at each other, and I try to get a read on him, but all I can sense is irritation. What’s his damage?

“Uh, that’s good, I guess,” I mumble.

He tilts his head, his indifferent expression shifting into one of anger. “Are you… Are you seriously going to act like everything is fine?”

I squint at him. “Everything is fine.”

But it’s not. I just got my heart broken, and this asshole is acting like he knows about it and is angry at me for it.

Jacob lets out a harsh laugh. “Right. Sure. Because you didn’t blow me off for another man during our date and then ghost me after.”

Did I… did I do that? To be fair, after Everett and I solidified our new relationship, I stopped responding to all the men and women who would hit on me. But that was weeks ago!

“I didn’t owe you a response,” I respond, my reply short and confident. “It was one date.”

“You really are a cruel person, you know that?” Jacob sneers, huffing out an agitated breath. “You have no regard for the feelings of others.”

“That’s not true!” I insist.

“Yes, it is. I thought your confidence was really cute a few weeks ago, but now… Now I just see that you’re a narcissist who uses others and tosses them aside once you’re done.”

“That is completely unfair,” I snap. “Look, we went on a date, and it didn’t work out. Don’t turn me into the bad guy because I didn’t fall in love with you.”

“This has nothing to do with love,” he deadpans. “You agreed to a date and left halfway through to be with someone else, then acted like I didn’t exist. You could have just told me you weren’t interested, but instead, you couldn’t even respect me enough to shoot a text.”

I… Well, that’s a valid point. I just didn’t think about it; not once after our date did I truly consider Jacob at all. And that… Fuck.

He’s so right. I was so enthralled with Everett and what we were becoming that he didn’t even cross my mind. I just… left him out to dry.

“You’re self-absorbed, and honestly very mean. You should really think about your own actions, and how they might affect others. Seriously. Just… forget it.” And with that, he turns and exits the store, not even bothering to do his shopping.

I stand, frozen on the spot as his words sink in.

I truly thought that I was better now. That I was working hard to become the kind of person who is worthy of being called a good man. Have I sincerely been a monster this entire time?

Is it wrong of Everett to venture to someone nicer and softer, when before, he was coming home to this every night?

No. I will not validate his betrayal with my own flaws. But maybe this is for the best—if he hasn’t figured out how terrible I am before now, I guess his leaving prevents the pain of him discovering it.

I am stuck here, forever the worst version of myself. I’m caught in a violent loop, my head spinning and my stomach churning.

Maybe they should have locked me up.

Maybe I will always be a vicious viper, coiled to strike.

Chapter Twenty

Skylar Parish

The locks are changed; the apartment feels empty. The silence that surrounds me is demanding, forcing me to notice the difference in how the air circulates without Everett here to take up space.

I cannot seem to find tears anymore. No matter how hard I try, I can’t cry. Maybe it’s the realization that I’m not as good a person as I thought I was becoming, or maybe it’s simply that I’ve exhausted my tear ducts.

Sitting on the couch, wrapped in a throw blanket, I stare blankly at the black screen of my TV.

Where do I go from here? Should I return to therapy or check myself into some kind of personality conversion camp? I feel stuck.

There are too many horrible thoughts circling my mind. Such as Everett, his hand intertwined with Ashley’s, and how I was so unaware that he’d be more than willing to crush me. Or my parents, who will once again be disappointed by their only child.